Lance crams the French fries into his mouth as he stares out the restaurant window, eyes unfocused. Greasy handprints smudge the glass. The conversation and the chatter of his friends filters into his ears as if he is underwater.

"...Did you see what that guy was doing...?"

"...I know! Crazy, right, Lance?" Lance barely registers the sound of his name above the stream.

"Lance!" The sharp point of an elbow jabs into his side.

"Huh? What were you guys talking about? Sorry, I wasn't listening," Lance asks sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he turns to face his friends. Pidge rolls her eyes and Hunk smacks his forehead.

"Ok, so like I was saying to Pidge," Hunk begins in mild exasperation, "There's this new guy at school who's really weird."

Lance reaches for another handful of fries, shoving them into his mouth as he speaks, "So?"

"Dude, you don't understand. He's like way weird," Pidge protests, face stone serious.

"He's in Pidge's AP Calc and AP Bio classes, and my advanced art class. He's probably not in any of your classes, but trust me, you would know if he was in your class," Hunk dips his finger into the honey mustard and slips it into his mouth. "Mm this is good," He murmurs. "But back on topic. So this guy, he like wears this weird red jacket that's like cropped at the waist and these matching red boots and he has these weird purple eyes and long hair."

Lance raises an eyebrow. "He has a mullet?"

"No, it's more like he has bangs in the front and shoulder-length hair in the back. And anyways, he just acts so weird! Pidge, tell Lance about what happened in your classes."

Pidge glances up at Lance, sliding her glasses up her nose. "So he walks into my Calc class and takes the seat furthest away from everyone, and just sits there, arms crossed, not even pulling out his textbook. So class starts and we begin this new section that's really confusing and we're all stuck on this one problem, right? The teacher, he's like calling on everyone and everyone's getting it wrong-even I was confused! Then, finally, the teacher calls on him, and he answers the question perfectly. The teacher's like flabbergasted, because he thought he had finally stumped the class, and so he starts throwing all these hard questions at him, and this guy-this guy answers every single one of them perfectly!"

Lance feels the stub of a fry drop from his lips. Pidge is always top of her class in every subject, there is no one he knows that is smarter. And yet-

"Then," Pidge continues, "Everyone is frozen in awe, and when the class finally ends everyone rushes towards him. And he just walks straight past them towards the door and lets it slam behind him. And that was the weirdest part," Pidge leans in across the table, eyes wide, "The look the guy gave everyone as they were approaching. It was utter fear, like he was a deer in the headlights of a car and he was going to be run over. I saw him flinch, Lance-!"

Pidge takes two fingers and snaps them under Lance's nose. Lance recoils. "What-"

Pidge nods. "Like that. He acted exactly like that, like they were going to hurt him." Pidge settles back into her seat, her eyes wandering back into her thoughts. "The same thing happened in Bio. I wonder why..."

"Well, was even weirder in art!" Hunk adds, launching into his account, "So in art it was a free day, because we had caught up on all our projects, and we could make whatever we wanted. And the guy, he pulls out a large canvas, grabs some oil paints, and without even using a paintbrush or anything, he squirts the paint directly onto the canvas and starts using his fingers to spread it around." Hunk shudders involuntarily. "Even in art, where there's hardly any rules, that's a big no no. But the weird thing is, that as he's going along-completely unaware of anything around him, mind you-his painting starts to actually look good. At first it looks really abstract and cool, but as he works on it, it starts to take form, and like these figures start appearing. But at that moment, when whatever he's making is surfacing, he becomes aware of everyone crowding around him. And at this, he literally starts sweating beads of water. Like beads of sweat were forming on his forehead! I've never seen that before! And finally, when it looks like he's about to explode, he takes his fingers and rakes them down the canvas, smearing everything. He stares down at his hands, which are covered in paint, hyperventilating, before sprinting out the door."

Lance feels like he is struck by lightning. "What the weird?"

Hunk and Pidge nod in unison. "I know, right?" Pidge exclaims.

"When did this happen, and how come I didn't hear about it?" Lance demands, clutching his head. For some reason he cannot shake, his mind is fixated on this mysterious guy.

"Oh, just last week. I think the guy only moved here on Monday." Hunk slurps on his soda before letting out a burp. "Excuse me."

"You probably haven't noticed it because you're blind to the world," Pidge interjects teasingly. "You're always staring off into space, daydreaming. What do you even think about?"

Lance feels a blush creep onto his cheeks. "That's-that's none of your business!" He splutters. "Besides, we're changing the subject!"

Pidge snorts.

"Anyways, back on subject," Lance says loudly, giving Pidge a glare, "Do you guys maybe think that the reason the guy's acting that way is because he's autistic or something?"

Hunk shrugs. "Could be."

"Hey, maybe after the weekend you guys can point him out to me?" Lance suggests. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't intrigued.

"Sure, thing man," Pidge stretches, tossing the now empty fry container in the trash, "He has the same lunch period as us."

"Great," Lance stands up as well. "It was awesome to hang out with you guys, but mi Madre has a doctor's appointment and I gotta watch the fam." He swivels around, strolling towards the door.

"Oh, yeah, see you later." Hunk calls from behind him.

His friends' voices fade away as Lance closes the distance between him and the exit, his mind swirling with the stories they told. Weird purple eyes. Deer in the headlights. Covered in paint. And as the words and imagery spiral together of this strange and otherwise new boy, Lance stops short in realization. His toe is in the door.

Faster than Lance has ever moved in his life, he darts back over to the table. Hunk and Pidge gaze up in surprise.

"Wait, wait!" Lance cries out, stopping short. He pauses, catching his panting breaths. "What-" He gasps, "What was his name?"

Pidge puts a finger to her lips and glances upwards. "Um, I'm not sure, but I think his name was Keith."

Lance nods, a quick, bobbing motion. "Thank you," Before he can finish the statement he's already whisked the words away with him as he swings the door open, a sort of bubbly breathlessness being released from inside.

Keith.

A/N Hey guys thanks for reading. This is my first fanfic (and first time writing), so I really appreciate it. Reviews help boost my confidence as well, so it doesn't hurt to send them.

Yes, there is a reason why Keith is so weird, but you'll just have to wait and see!